Business Casual

Hanging On

After school the next day, Gulf went home to take a nap since he was exhausted from a long day of testing. Pear, however, did not have that luxury. She had to cover a coworker's shift at the café, so she was headed to work. Mild went with Pear, figuring some coffee and cake couldn't hurt. It'd be his reward for testing today.

As Pear walked into the café, she swiftly tied on her apron and strutted behind the counter, going into barista mode. Mild walked in behind Pear, immediately stepping in line, looking at the menu to figure out what he wanted. When he got to the counter, Mild flashed a smile to the beautiful woman.

"I'd like a venti java chip Frappuccino, two basil pork basil rolls, and a piece of strawberry cake please," Mild ordered masterfully.

The girl taking his order smiled, "Will that be all, sir?"

Mild grinned slyly, "I wouldn't mind getting your number, too?"

The girl giggled but shook her head, "That was a good one but sorry, I have a boyfriend."

"And the search goes on," Mild muttered to himself as he walked over to one of the tables in the corner and sat down.

After a few minutes of waiting, Mild looked up from his phone to see Pear placing a tray onto his table.

Pear crossed her arms with a sigh, "Can you please stop trying to flirt with my coworkers?"

Mild chuckled, taking the food and coffee off the tray so Pear could take it back, "But, they're all so gorgeous."

"Yeah, because good looking people attract customers," Pear stated matter-of-factly.

With a grin, Mild sipped his coffee, "How'd you get a job here, then?"

Pear smacked Mild's shoulder, "I'm absolutely stunning, thank you very much." She flipped her hair as she turned to walk back to the kitchen.

On the way back, Pear spotted a familiar figure across the café. She kept glancing over until she could finally tell who it was. It was Champ. He was there with another boy from the engineering faculty. Assuming they were friends, Pear just went back to work, not worrying too much.

As she continued to make coffees and cakes, Pear kept an eye on Champ and his friend, growing more and more skeptical of the basis of their relationship. Just before she concluded her shift, Pear took one last look at the engineering boys to see Champ walking the other boy out as they held hands.

"What the hell?" Pear whispered to herself as she hung her apron.

Pear walked back over to Mild's table again, sitting down this time.

Mild smiled, "Do you want my other basil roll? I can't eat it."

After nodding and taking the roll from Mild, Pear leaned a bit closer, her elbows resting on the table between them, "Did you see him?"

"Who?" Mild furrowed his brows.

Pear sighed, "Champ was here with another boy. They were being really touchy, but maybe I'm just reading into it too much." She wasn't. She had a bad feeling about this Champ guy and she was starting to see why.

Mild gasped as he sipped his Frappuccino, "What?! Really? Should we tell Gulf?"

"And tell him what?" Pear ran her hand through her hair, "That the guy he's known for a week who may or may not be into him was having lunch with someone else?"

With a pout, Mild scratched his head, "Okay, so we don't tell him. But I still fee weird about Champ."

"Yeah, me too," Pear frowned as she opened her basil roll and started eating it.

Pear and Mild finished their food, trying to figure out what to do about Champ. They both thought that Champ was a bit too forward, especially for Gulf who was clearly still hung up on Mew. Every time Pear or Mild would mention Mew, Gulf would turned a bright rosy hue and change the topic. Gulf was trying so hard to distract himself from thinking of Mew, and Champ seemed to be the perfect distraction.

Just as they were about to leave, Pear got a text from Gulf.

Babie*insertpoutyemoji*: P'! Our results are posted already! I got a 97! Check ur grade

Pear gasped, "Mild, you can check your final grades now!"

They both rushed to find their scores on their phones, thumbs moving faster than lightning.

"I got 100!" Pear cheered, doing her happy dance.

Mild chuckled, "You always get hundreds. I got a 94."

Pear grabbed Mild's hands dramatically, "We need to celebrate!"

The three friends texted in their group chat, discussing where they should go. After deciding on a location, Pear and Mild went back home, and Gulf dialed Champ. Gulf shared the good news and invited Champ to come with them to celebrate.

As the sun set, the four students got ready to go out. They met at the most popular bar on their side of town, meeting each other around 9:00pm.

When Champ joined them, Pear and Mild gave each other a skeptical glance before Mild tugged on Gulf's sleeve, "We didn't know he was coming."

"Oh, I invited him last minute. Sorry I forgot to tell you guys," Gulf smiled.

As the night went on, Pear and Mild subtly distanced themselves from Gulf and Champ. Gulf didn't seem to notice or care because he was so enchanted by Champ's undeniable charm. The more alcohol they consumed, the warmer they acted toward each other. By the end of the night, the four of them were dancing, cheering to being done with finals, and mingling with other people, Mild on his never ending quest to find a girlfriend.

It was around midnight when Pear, Mild, Gulf, and Champ stumbled out of the car to find a taxi. Gulf and Champ were glued to each other, sharing drunken kisses and touches as Pear and Mild stood on the curb to hail a cab. Pear finally managed to flag one down, getting in the front, and letting the boys squeeze in the backseat. The driver went to Pear's first, then Mild's, then Gulf's. When they arrived at Gulf's apartment, Champ walked the boy up to his door. Champ stole another sloppy kiss from the intoxicated boy before him.

"Mm," Gulf pulled away, putting a hand on Champ's solid chest to stop him, "Stop it, P'Mew. You got to go home," he slurred.

Champ furrowed his eyebrows at the boy's mistake. Mew? Why does that name sound so familiar?

The whole way home, Champ racked his brain, trying to think of where he'd heard that name before.

Gulf got inside, tripping over his own feet a few times on the way to his bedroom. He fell onto his bed and opened his phone, doing what no one should ever do. Drunk text. He went to his messages, click on 'MewSup', and started typing away.

Gupi<3: Hey P I wannt u to know I mis u ans your like relly hot. mkay love u by

With a press of the send button, Gulf drifted into dreamland.

It was at this moment that Gulf realized, maybe he wasn't so over Mew.

Maybe they had a chance.

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I've been prewriting and typing a lot of stuff in hopes of being able to publish chapters while i'm in the hospital so i you guys don't have to wait

but the next chapter is juicy so prepare a snack and buckle your seatbelts;)

hope you enjoyed:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)